Sociopathy and Rules for Living

Bonnie and I were talking today about the new book, “The Sociopath Next Door”, by Harvard Medical School psychiatrist Dr. Martha Stout.
In her book, which is due out next month, Dr. Stout says that 4% of the population, or 1 out of every 25, are sociopaths: people who display 3 or more of 7 characteristics, such as deceitfulness, the ability to sham emotion and a lack of remorse.

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Tsunami

Due to chronic insomnia, I’ve been watching some late-night reruns of science programs about last month’s Southeast Asia tsunami.
I’ve learned some new facts: for example, tsunamis generally come in sets, and the first wave isn’t usually the biggest.
I’ve also learned that tsunamis of 300 or more feet are possible. In fact, a tsunami can reach 1,000 feet – the height of a skyscraper.

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Who’s Your Daddy

The title of this, the Fox “reality” show about an adoptee’s reunion with her natural father, is absolutely stupid and insulting, yes.
But I look with savage amusement at the type of people who are protesting this show – organizations like The Gladney Center, the adoption agency that founded and largely underwrites the National Council for Adoption (NCFA), the primary organization that lobbies against giving adult adoptees access to their records (http://www.txcare.org/atforum/gladneywknd.html).

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